It can be hard to find a good balance. In my life it seems to be all or nothing. I'm either immersed in the literary world with reading, writing, critiquing, and editing, or I'm on hiatus and focusing completely on my other job: motherhood. Transitioning from literary mode to mom mode was difficult because I missed writing and felt guilty for not critiquing and reading more. Transitioning back into literary mode has been difficult because I'm so out of practice.
The other day I was looking at clouds with my family as we drove home at twilight. Some of them had such a sweeping appearance that I commented it looked like they'd been painted there by a brush. My five-year-old asked me if the painter used a ladder to reach the sky. :)
Immediately, my story wheels began to turn. Story is in me. It's in all of us. While my writing muscles may have atrophied from a long absence, the reason why I write has not gone away.
What drives you to write?
It can be really hard to get into writing and I think we all struggle with it at some point. I write because... I love telling stories, even since my dad used to tell us Jack and the Beanstalk over and over when we were kids, never using a book.
ReplyDeleteThat is a beautiful picture and it does look like someone painted it!
I write because I can't help myself. lol! Writing keeps me sane in a life full of children, noise and chaos. It's an addiction.
ReplyDeleteyeah, I think that writers just see the world a certain way. Like you, the simplest comment sets my story gears churning. I can't shut it off even if I try - and I have tried before. It's just too much a part of who I am :)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pic :)
You're right, it's in the blood...tho the blood may slow, it's still there. And what a gorgeous question your five-year-old asked.
ReplyDeleteI, too, take (short) breaks from writing to focus on different things. The reason I keep coming back to the page? What can I say, I like to share :) I can't keep ideas bottled up inside of me, I have to get them out.
ReplyDeleteIt steals my peace if I don't write. It gives me so much energy, such a calm to do so.
ReplyDeleteAmen to all of your comments! I can relate to the bottled-up ideas feeling and the peace that comes when it's down on paper. You all said it much better than I.
ReplyDelete